Orange County's Family Photographer, Tara Whitney

polka dot baby + family

cant leave out her adorable brother-something about him reminded me of kevin bacon...

the goswick girls

these beautiful women live on a working ranch, and on a college tour of california, stopped off in newport beach to meet me.

mothers and daughters are so inspiring for me to work with, probably because of the amazing relationship i have with my own mom. it really does seem like only a week ago that i was 16 years old and she was still trying to cuddle me on her lap...

these girls were super fun to work with, loved my ideas, (or pretended to) and most importantly, loved each other very much. it was plain to see.

as this guy came into my peripheral vision as i was shooting her in this spot, i thought-keep on coming, keep on coming...i LOVE capturing surfers in the background at the beach.

bikini shopping:

canadian belly

so last year michelle got in touch with me and wanted to fly down to southern cali for a trip with her husband. we had everything planned...until she went and got herself knocked up!

sooo they decided to hold off and come down once the babe had percolated a little bit...we met up at crystal cove state beach and had so much fun that even once the sun went down we grabbed appetizers and drinks at the restaurant down there. and we got to use michelle's fragile condition as an excuse not to hike back up the hill and use the shuttle instead. some guy said "i just hate having to use my body." as we got on. made me laugh. and i think the shuttle driver liked me a little bit too much...he says he remembers everyone who rides, so next time ill have to test him.

but anyway...the tunnel at crystal cove was "flooded" or so the signs said. we just rolled up our jeans and went in anyway.

i looove this one! she had a couple tattoos, you can see them on her belly here and there.

they had so much energy and loved to play. arent they just so CUTE?

best hair ever award, and i just adore the shape of her tummy.

i take no responsibility for the creation of this leaf. they said canadians would understand....

james i hope rowan has more hair then you do!

happy belly

i was so excited in february to get contacted by two pregnant women. the first was a mom that learned of me through my friend sheridan. sheridan is a doula here in orange county, and she also teaches hyno-babies classes.. Hypnobabies is the training of the inner mind so that contractions in labor are felt only as pressure and tightening sensations. There is no pain. (i have watched sheridan give birth without any medication. it was amazing.)

erin decided to hire me for a maternity and newborn session. cant wait to go back for little sam, who was born just a day after these pictures were taken.

she had a glorious bathroom-so we started in there.

then we got dressed and headed out and about in san clemente.

i couldnt take a bad photo of this sweet girl.

i kept thinking throughout our session how her little bellybutton looked like a nose...

so when we got back to her place, we whipped out the eye and lip pencils.
and that is why this post is titled: happy belly!

couple more with sweet braden and his momma and dad

peekaboo!

the rainbow state

my gorgeous friends in hawaii who really feel more like family. heather, kivalu, valu, and keenan. and we cant forget te'a, their four legged sister. last year we did a session at their local beach. which got keenan on the cover of simple scrapbooks magazine. this year we hung around the house and went to the temple grounds that are just up the street.

after those rolling down the hill pictures, heather and kivalu could barely eat dinner they felt so sick! (wimps.)

Bentley's family

about a year ago, or so, i got an email from a photographer from NYC. her name was bentley waters and we hit it off over email pretty nicely. she helped me out with location and dinner ideas while i was in NYC, but the day we were supposed to meet up, i woke up with a nasty stomach bug.

i still so badly wanted to meet her, so i was so happy when she asked me to photograph her family while she was here in CA. she was even more lovely in person-and so was her family.

her brothers were in town also, so we dragged them into a few photos...

somebody's trying to get away...

this next series of just the two of them are some of my favorites from the session...

the kid was undeniably adorable.

and there wasn't even any whining involved. swear it.

i was going through my photo files from 2007 and i was shocked and appalled to find out that i only took 900-ish photos of my family during the entire year. the year before that? 2700-ish. and september 07? yeah, i didnt take even ONE PHOTO OF THEM THE WHOLE ENTIRE MONTH. the only time my camera came out to play in september was for the wonderful people who were paying me to do it.

i was actually pretty devastated to discover this. the reason i take photos is because of THEM. and is part of the reason for the changes this year for me. i want to enjoy my kids and my hobby. taking pictures of them is like bottled happiness for me. i can open the bottle and take a whiff anytime i want. and to not take advantage of that...it kills me.

so changes. i am happy to say, i have started 08 out with a bang. i have lots on top of lots of photos that i have taken around the house and out and about. and now, i even have a session full of shots. of just them. all bottled up and happy just for me.

some of my clients may recognize this alley.

"snuggle up!" i yelled. and i got sweet goodness.

going in for the kill.

totally playing it cool. killed me.

"who has the stinkiest feet?"

that is mckenna not handling all of the shenanigans very well. so we broke it up after that and had some fun.

we stayed firmly on the ground.

southern california winters

my absolute favorite time of year. january-march. it is BEAUTIFUL here. cool and crisp. sunny. and sometimes rainy.

i met up with emily and lisa in oceanside a couple weekends back. it was freezing-but the kids did not care, as you can see. i just love spending time with these girls. its so weird to think that these beautiful people in my life have such an impact on my children too.

once, anna and i were playing the "describing game" where you describe something or someone until the other person guesses. and we were doing people.

anna said: i am thinking of a girl.
and she has black hair.
but she doesnt have any daughters.
and she likes me a lot.

and i didnt even have to guess. i knew it was lisa. and speaking of lisa: here is lovely laughing lisa at a different beach on a different day.

photos from that beach day to come.

for jeni

with much love, from em and tara.

(jeni is emily's mom. jeni made this quilt. it took her ten years. jeni gave it to emily. emily wanted to make this photograph for her mom. she asked tara. now tara wants one too. so get cracking jeni. i can wait ten more years.)

ps-you have a copy coming your way very soon. xoxo

emily posted more about the quilt on her blog-you have got to read this too.